Empty Talk
Kurt Cobain’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ Guitar Going Up for Auction
Published
2 weeks agoon

Nirvana fans will have the opportunity to own one of frontman Kurt Cobain’s most beloved guitars when the instrument goes up for auction in New York City later this month.
The guitar — a 1969 Fender Competition Mustang in a color known as Lake Placid Blue — is currently part of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay’s extensive collection of rock memorabilia, and will be auctioned off to benefit the NFL team’s Kicking The Stigma mental health awareness campaign, per the Associated Press. The auction, Irsay noted, comes with full support of the Cobain estate.
Cobain famously used the guitar in the video for the band’s breakthrough single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The guitar is said to be among the musician’s favorite in his expansive collection — so much so that Cobain rarely used the guitar outside of a studio setting. (Footage from a September 1991 in-store performance in Seattle show Cobain playing the guitar for several songs, and numerous fan sites have documented the guitar’s use at a handful of gigs between the fall of 1991 and early 1993.)
The so-called “competition stripe” variants, which were available for both Mustang guitars and basses, are a much-coveted instrument among short-scale enthusiasts; original 1960s and 1970s models regularly sell for thousands of dollars.
Cobain was well-known for his devotion to Fender’s line of offset guitars — most notably the brand’s Mustang models, which the “Come As You Are” singer used regularly throughout Nirvana’s run. In the year leading up to the release of Nevermind, Cobain destroyed several Mustangs — which the band had pieced together and assembled on the cheap — on-stage during several live shows. (“We bought some necks, and took pieces of wood and cut out the bodies and put necks on — and they were completely out of tune. But we did a pretty good job,” Cobain recalled in a 1993 interview. “Those were all destroyed in one tour.”) He also exclusively played a series of four Fender Mustangs during the band’s In Utero Tour.
“Out of all the guitars in the whole world, the Fender Mustang is my favorite,” Cobain said in a 1991 interview with Guitar World. “They’re cheap and totally inefficient, and they sound like crap and are very small.”
In addition to the Fender Mustang, Cobain was frequently drawn to another Fender offset: the Jaguar. His love of both the Jaguar and the Mustang eventually led Cobain to collaborate with the Fender Custom Shop on the creation of the hybrid Jag-Stang in 1993 — a model that remains in production to this day.
Bidding will take place at the Times Square Hard Rock Cafe May 20 through 22. Fans looking to fork over their hard-earned cash to own the piece of grunge history might find themselves out of luck, however. The Associated Press reports Irsay intends to place an opening bid of $2 million on the guitar in an effort to retain its ownership. Oh well, whatever, never mind indeed.
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Empty Talk
You Won’t Be Able to Get Enough of These Secrets About Jennifer Lopez’s Most Underrated Movie
Published
4 hours agoon
May 22, 2022
2002 couldn’t get enough Jennifer Lopez.
In that year, J.Lo starred in the beloved rom-com Maid in Manhattan, released two hit albums and her first fragrance, opened a restaurant and, you know, got engaged to Ben Affleck. You never forget your first Bennifer.
Also released in 2002? The underrated thriller Enough, which finds the superstar playing a wife on the run with her young daughter who ultimately learns to fight back against her abusive husband, played by Billy Campbell. Released on May 24, the Michael Apted-directed movie debuted at No. 5 at the box office and went on to gross $51.8 million worldwide.
But despite the disappointing numbers, including only a 22 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Enough has amassed a cult following over the years, thanks to Lopez’s gritty performance. But the making of the movie took an emotional toll on the actress, who later revealed she suffered “a kind of nervous breakdown” during production.
Check out these 15 secrets you might not know about Enough, including which Oscar winner was initially slated to be the lead and the co-star Lopez picked to be in the movie after meeting him at the Golden Globes…
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1. The movie is based on the 1998 bestselling novel Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen.
2. Sandra Bullock was initially set to star as Slim in Enough, but had to back out due to scheduling conflicts with another film, according to a 2001 Variety report.
3. In a 2002 episode of E!s Behind the Scenes: Enough, director Michael Apted admitted he was initially hesitant to work with Jennifer Lopez after rumors of her diva-like behavior began to surface.
“You hear all the legends about his difficult she is and its going to be hard to get through it and all this kind of stuff, and then we met and we got on,” Apted explained. “But then there was a kind of gap between us agreeing to do it and starting to rehearse and during that time I could never get a hold of her. She was always so busy. And I thought, oh my god, this is a big, tough job and if she isn’t going to be around, how are we going to get through it?”
But Apted quickly discovered his star was “very focused on what’s in front of her. If you’re in her peripheral, forget it ,you won’t get the time of day,” he continued. “Up until when we started rehearsing, I was very much in the peripheral of her life. But once we started, she was incredibly focused. What I love about her is that she’s gifted, but she’s also very hardworking.”
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4. Preparing for the emotionally and physically demanding role took a toll on its lead. “It was a really emotional roller coaster for me during that time,” Lopez told E! in 2002. “You do take it home with you. It’s hard to not.”
5. Lopez later admitted she suffered “a kind of nervous breakdown,” while filming Enough.
“It was about five in the afternoon in my trailer and I just sat there. I remember telling my assistant at the time to go get the director Michael Apted and I asked if I could go home because I was feeling so, so sick and weird. I kept saying, ‘I’m not weak, I’m not weak,'” she told The Daily Beast in 2008. She was driven to a doctor, who prescribed medication, which she refused. “He told me to go back to work on Monday after a weekend of sleeping because if I waited longer that I would only get more panicked about working. So that’s what I did. I’ve still never been to a shrink. I’m not a shrinky person.”
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6. Billy Campbell was cast as Slim’s abusive husband Mitch after Lopez met him at the Golden Globes and told the filmmakers she liked him for the part. But after meeting with the director and producers, Campbell told Conan O’Brien in 2002 that he still had to “go to J.Lo’s house to get approved.” Admitting he was “quite nervous” because he too had the rumors about the star being not the easiest to work with, Campbell said, “In order to attempt to appear calm, I found myself on all fours playing with her chihuahua.”
7. Campbell was so intimidating in the movie that Lopez’s grandmother had a strong reaction to the actor after its premiere.
“He said, ‘Your grandmother beat on me,'” Lopez told Diane Sawyer in 2002. “She was like, ‘I no like you,’ because she doesn’t speak any English. ‘I no like. Very, very bad,’ you know.”
8. Known at the time for playing a loving father on the hit TV series Once and Again, Campbell relished his turn to the dark side. “I was thrilled to play a villain,” he told E!. “It’s something no one has ever really given me the chance to do before and I leapt at it. It was just as much fun as I thought it would be.”
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9. To prepare for the film’s intense fight scenes, Lopez trained for three months to learn Krav Maga, a military self-defense and fighting system that combines elements of boxing, karate and wrestling.
“[Krav Maga] levels out the playing field between men and women,” Lopez told MTV News, “where it doesn’t matter how big or tall or strong you are. You can actually maneuver around that. It’s about getting out of the way, counter attacking and using whatever you can to get the upper hand.”
10. The climactic showdown between Lopez and Campbell left both actors banged up after they were “hammering each other” while filming the scene, Campbell told Hollywood.com at the movie’s premiere. “I have to say that she got the better of me,” he added. “I bruised her arm—I’m pretty sure about that. And I know for a fact she bruised my ribs. She may have separated them.”
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11. Lopez recorded the song “Alive,” which she co-wrote with her then-husband Cris Judd, for the film, though she was initially hesitant about the idea.
“Well, they wanted me to do it,” Lopez told NY Rock. “They wanted me to do something for the movie. But I can’t force those things. It kinda just has to happen.”
But after hearing Judd tinker around on the piano with a melody she found “really beautiful…and a little haunting,” she continued, “I said to myself, you know what, I can write something to that right now. And we can use it in Enough.”
12. Curiously, though “Alive” is the film’s theme song, it wasn’t included on the soundtrack album—but it did later make the cut as the only original song on her 2020 album, J to tha L–O! The Remixes.
13. While Slim cuts her hair in order to hide from her abusive husband, Lopez wore a wig.
Columbia Pictures
14. Lopez bonded with her co-star Juliette Lewis while filming, telling E! News, “We had a really great time. We’d talk about music and life and boys and all kinds of stuff and marriage. We really got along.”
Lewis was also quick to gush over Lopez, saying, “She invested herself in this part 100 percent. She worked her ass off to do a good job and I respect that.”
15. Tessa Allen made her acting debut as Lopez’s on-screen daughter and the scene in which Slim has an emotional monologue in her car while her child is sleeping turned out to be very real: The filmmakers waited until Allen took a nap to make the scene feel as realistic as possible.
Watch Daily Pop weekdays at 11 a.m., only on E!.
Empty Talk
Inside the 13-Year Search for Brittanee Drexel: A Family’s Nightmare, Grim Twists and a Suspect Charged
Published
4 hours agoon
May 22, 2022
The Truth Behind Our Obsession With True Crime Stories
Brittanee Drexel was just another kid in town for spring break.
Myrtle Beach, S.C., was packed with revelers in April 2009, and the 17-year-old from Rochester, N.Y., had been determined to join the fun, even though her mom had said no to the trip.
“I didn’t know she was going,” Dawn Drexel told People later that year. “The day she left she was angry with me because she asked me if she could go and I told her no. I said, ‘There’s no adults going and I have no idea who these kids are and I don’t feel comfortable with it.'”
“I told her I just felt something was going to happen to her,” she recalled. “I just felt it.”
Brittanee had been allowed to go spend the night with a friend to give everyone a chance to cool off after some heated arguing. Dawn said she called on the night of April 22 “and apologized for the whole day.”
But the high school soccer player, who had recently told her mom she wanted to be a maternity nurse and find “Mr. Right” to have kids with, took off for South Carolina that night with a few friends. For the next few days, neither of Brittanee’s parents, who had separated in 2008, had any idea she was in Myrtle Beach.
She last talked to her mom on April 25, a Saturday. “She said she was at the beach,” Dawn said. “I didn’t think anything of it because it was 80 degrees in Rochester that day and they call the lake the beach here.”
Dawn told ABCNews.com in 2009 of that last conversation, “I told her I loved her and she said, ‘I love you, too, mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.'”
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Brittanee Drexel Disappears
On the night of April 25, 2009, according to investigators, Brittanee went to meet a friend from her hometown and a few of his buddies at the Blue Water Resort on Ocean Boulevard, the main drag of downtown Myrtle Beach. The group she’d traveled with said they last had contact with Brittanee at approximately 8 p.m.
Security camera images released later showed her leaving the Blue Water Resort alone at 8:45 p.m. She texted her boyfriend, 19-year-old John Grieco, who was back in Rochester, that she was walking back to where she and her pals were staying, the Bar Harbor Motel, about a mile and a half away.
And then Brittanee stopped texting back.
After checking in with some of the people Brittanee was on vacation with, John—who later told CBS News he had known Brittanee was going on the trip and “never thought anything could happen in three days”—texted Dawn, informing her that her daughter was in Myrtle Beach and that neither he nor her friends there could get a hold of her.
MYRTLE BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT
“I said, ‘What do you mean, they can’t find her?'” Dawn, talking to ABCNews.com, remembered asking him. “He said he was texting her and all of a sudden, nothing.”
She and Brittanee’s dad, Chad Drexel, both tried to call and text. Their messages remaining unanswered, Dawn told People she first called the Rochester police, at a loss for what to do.
According to the Myrtle Beach Police Department’s incident report from April 26, Dawn then had a family friend stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina drive down to Myrtle Beach and, after touching base with Brittanee’s friends, called the cops at around 5 a.m. She was entered into the National Crime Information Center as missing at 6:30 a.m.
Investigators later shared that the last known ping from Brittanee’s cell phone was at around midnight from a tower near the South Santee River, between McClellanville and Georgetown, S.C.
The Long Search for Brittanee Drexel Begins
When Brittanee was first reported missing April 26, police weren’t yet sure what they were dealing with.
“We can’t really get a handle on it,” Myrtle Beach Police Capt. David Knipes told ABCNews.com. “It could go either way.”
As yet there was “no evidence of foul play,” he said. “Could there be? Sure…It could range the whole gamut from ‘I’m a runaway’ to ‘I’ve been abducted and killed.'”
A Myrtle Beach Police report stated that two of the five guys Brittanee met at the Blue Water Resort that night told investigators she only stayed for about 10 minutes, then left to return some clothing to another friend. The whole group checked out of their room sometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. later that night and drove back to Rochester, Knipe also told ABCNews.com.
“Sinister? I don’t know,” the captain said, noting that they could also have merely wanted to get an early start on their 16-hour drive home before work or school the next day.
But, Knipes added, “Nobody’s been cleared. You don’t clear anybody until the case is closed.”
MYRTLE BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT
Dawn Drexel, meanwhile, did not think her daughter would just take off without saying anything, especially leaving all her luggage behind.
“I think something has happened to her,” she told ABCNews.com. “I just have a funny feeling. It’s not like her to not call her family.”
Brittanee took her parents’ divorce hard and had recently been prescribed antidepressants, Dawn said, adding, “I really don’t know what state of mind she’s in right now.”
If her daughter was able to call her, she hoped she would. “I want her to know she’s not in any kind of trouble,” Dawn said. “We just want her to come home.”
In the days immediately following the teen’s disappearance, Dawn and Chad Drexel—who had adopted Brittanee as a toddler when he married Dawn—went down to Myrtle Beach to pass out missing fliers and look for her themselves.
“I did everything I could to try to find her,” Chad recalled to People in 2016. “I’m the only father she has ever known. We were very close.”
AP Photo/The Sun News, Janet Blackmon Morgan
John Grieco, who also went to Myrtle Beach during that first week, told ABCNews.com, that he had taken a break from work and school to focus on the search for his girlfriend.
“My whole life in Rochester had Brittanee involved with it,” he said, noting that they had been dating off and on for two and a half years. “It’s kind of hard to be in Rochester without Brittanee.” He described her as “a really strong-headed person,” and he didn’t think she had run away or harmed herself.
The family had set up a website, HelpFindBrittanee.com, through which people could donate. But already there were scammers trying to make a buck from the family’s ordeal, John said, people knocking on doors asking for donations, claiming it was for the search. Police were aware, he said.
On May 5, awash in tips and alleged reported sightings of Brittanee, police released surveillance images of her entering and leaving the Blue Water Resort on the night of April 26, the teen wearing black shorts, a printed tank-top and silver flipflops, her purse over her shoulder.
Police Captain Knipes expressed confidence that between his department, her family and assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, they should be able to find her.
On CBS News’ Early Show May 7, Grieco said he really wanted to stress that Brittanee had not run away. “She definitely met with foul play,” he said. “I think somebody saw her walking and offered her a ride and she got in the car with the wrong person.”
He said on behalf of himself, his family and her family, they all loved her and were going to do “everything in our power” to bring her home. “I can’t stand to be in Rochester without her,” Grieco added. “It is more like a marriage. I miss her. I was going through my voicemails, and there was one of her yelling at me, and I even miss her yelling at me.”
Dawn, though she remained hopeful, was already steeling herself for the worst. Talking to Rochester’s WHEC News 10 on May 5, she said, “I seriously think someone took my daughter or she may not be alive.”
AP Photo/The Sun News, Janet Blackmon Morgan
As the one-month mark approached in June, Myrtle Beach Police Detective Vincent Dorio told local publication The Sun News that those first critical hours after Brittanee disappeared had been “overwhelming” as they worked on interviewing everyone she’d come into contact with. But, he added, investigators had quickly ruled out the idea of Brittanee being a runaway.
After learning she had been treated for depression, “It only took a few hours to change from ‘This is a missing persons case and we have to hunt her down pretty quick’ to ‘This is serious,'” Dorio said. “This is not a kid hiding at the beach to stay away from mom. She just stopped all communication immediately, which wasn’t the norm for her.”
Dawn also told The Sun News she felt that the police had been on the ball with the search.
“They had police looking on Ocean Boulevard right away,” she said. “In Brittanee’s case, they had quite a few people working on it.” She added, “We talk to the police every day, or every other day.”
New Leads and People of Interest as Investigators Suspect Foul Play
In early April 2010, Myrtle Beach police first told their local ABC 15 News station, WPDE, that they had identified a few people of interest, as well as a location of interest they were investigating further.
“It’s just a matter of time now before everything gets put together, and we can say yes, here’s a solid arrest,” Detective Dorio told the station.
Talking to WACH Fox 57 on April 9, 2010, Georgetown County Investigator Chris Bailey, part of a multi-jurisdictional task force with Dorio and others, said he’d received a tip in December 2009 that set their current course in motion. He couldn’t go into too much detail, but said new evidence allowed for more search warrants and polygraph tests.
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Three, and possibly four, people of interest were “suspected of being present with Brittanee, knowing her whereabouts or possible whereabouts,” Bailey said.
Still, Dorio added, “We could use that one person—or that one piece of evidence—that comes forward and ties everything together to make a solid arrest which leads to a solid conviction.”
But, they acknowledged, the nature of their investigation had changed.
“In the beginning, it was a missing persons case,” Dorio said, “but everything we’ve looked at, I’m confident foul play was involved, and this is probably going to be a homicide investigation.”
A Sad Year Goes By
As the winter holidays approached in 2009, Dawn told WMBF News, “Christmas was one of Brittanee’s most favorite holidays. You know just decorating, making cookies, and things like that, you know, she enjoyed that. Right now, as it looks, she’s not gonna be here for that, and it’s gonna be very hard.”
She hoped that a recent People magazine cover, featuring Brittanee and several other missing young people, would help keep awareness of her case high. “Anything that can put her name and her face out there, it can bring in more leads,” Dawn said.
Talking to ABC 15 News as the one-year anniversary approached, she remembered the eldest of her three children as a sunny, outgoing girl who’d sing and impersonate Lion King characters, and who, when she got older, loved makeup and clothes and “wanted to be more with her friends,” like most teens.
Whatever had happened to Brittanee, Dawn said, “For her to go through something like that just kills. I mean as a parent, you’d rather have it done to yourself than your child. Nobody, I mean nobody wishes that on anybody.”
She of course wished her daughter was still alive, but “I don’t want to give myself false hope either. I mean, this has been an emotional roller coaster.” Dawn planned to attend a vigil being held in Myrtle Beach in Brittanee’s honor “It’s going to be difficult, but we’ll work through it,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with tears.”
FBI Says Brittanee Drexel Was Killed
Despite the investigation heating up in 2010, no arrests were made in connection with Brittanee’s case and it was a number of years before it was officially declared a homicide investigation.
On June 8, 2016, the FBI announced that they believed Brittanee had been held against her will and killed.
“Brittanee Drexel did leave the Myrtle Beach area,” South Carolina FBI Special Agent in Charge David Thomas said at a news conference in McClellanville, S.C. “We believe she traveled to this area, around McClellanville and the North Charleston, South Georgetown area, and we believe she was killed after that.”
Thomas didn’t go into detail, but said their evidence was “exhaustive.” They had suspected Brittanee had been dead for some time, he said, but held off on publicizing their findings “in the interest of trying to protect the parents and maintain hope that we could bring her back alive.”
Bruce Smith/AP/Shutterstock
A $25,000 reward was offered for information that led to whomever was responsible being brought to justice.
Also speaking at the news conference, Dawn Drexel said, “After seven long years of waiting and praying for the return of my daughter, we know she isn’t coming home alive. Brittanee’s life was stolen from her in a brutal and senseless fashion.”
Chad Drexel posted on Facebook that the news had “in a small way given us some horrible closure and also something to focus on over the next few months. One of the things i CAN SAY is that I BEG ANY AND OR ALL OF YOU to help us bring our daughters remains back home to us in New York. This is ALL ABOUT JUSTICE FOR BRITTANEE. As her father I CAN NOT UNTIL THE DAY I DIE LET ONE OR MORE of these people who murdered our baby GET AWAY WITH THIS.”
A Grim—and False—Lead
A couple months later, multiple media outlets obtained a federal court transcript of testimony given Aug. 15, 2016, by FBI Agent Gerrick Munoz during a bond hearing for Timothy Da’Shaun Taylor, who was in jail awaiting trial on federal robbery charges stemming from 2011.
Munoz testified that Taquan Brown, an inmate serving 25 years for voluntary manslaughter, had claimed in a jailhouse confession that he saw Taylor, who was 16 when Brittanee disappeared, sexually assaulting the girl at what he described as a “stash house.”
“They ended up tricking her out with some of their friends,” Munoz testified about Brown’s allegations, “offering her to them and getting a human trafficking situation.”
Also according to Munoz’s testimony, Brown said that Brittanee tried to run away but was “pistol-whipped” and he later heard two gunshots. He concluded that Taylor had shot her, after which her body was wrapped up and dumped in an alligator pit.
The so-called stash house and 40 nearby alligator pits were searched, but there were no traces of Brittanee, Munoz also testified.
During the hearing, David Aylor, Taylor’s lawyer, told the court there was no hard evidence or other witnesses linking his client to Brittanee and alleged that the government was trying to pressure Taylor into cooperating with them.
Taylor, who was never arrested or charged in connection with Brittanee’s case, was only officially cleared by the FBI earlier this month, after someone else was arrested. (Having already served prison time for the same robbery at the state level, Taylor was sentenced in 2019 to time served and probation for the federal charges.)
“We are not relieved,” his mother, Joan Taylor—who had adamantly denied the accusations against her son from the beginning—said at a May 19 press conference, per the Myrtle Beach Sun News. “We are enraged it took this long…I call for law enforcement to halt the practice of disclosing unfounded leads and names of potential suspects without credible evidence. Doing this has real life consequences and a lasting effect on so many, particularly us Black families.”
Their hearts went out to the Drexel family, Joan said, adding, “We understand the tragic loss of Brittanee, of her life, and it has changed her family forever. As a mother of three, I truly understand. It pains me to even think about losing a child.”
An FBI spokesperson told E! News in a statement, “Throughout the investigation law enforcement followed multiple leads to wherever they led us, all in effort to find Brittanee. We have an obligation to follow leads to their conclusion. To that end, the person we believe is responsible for Brittanee’s murder has been arrested and charged.”
Bruce Smith/AP/Shutterstock
Meanwhile, the Search Continues
In March 2017, investigators conducted a new three-day search of some woods and an open field in Georgetown, S.C., with a K-9 unit and excavating equipment. FBI supervisory agent Don Wood told Charleston’s Post and Courier, “We’re not going to discuss what we found and what we didn’t find. But I’m confident in telling you that the investigation was advanced. We made strides in bringing those responsible for Brittanee’s death to justice.”
Dawn Drexel told People that they’d been informed of the search and were “awaiting any news that may come in the near future. I am just emotionally drained. I am tired because I haven’t slept much.”
“Right now, we are waiting for a resolution on Brittanee’s case. Eight years is too long.”
“It Was Hours”: Brittanee’s Remains Found, Suspect Charged With Murder
After a 13-year investigation, authorities announced on May 16 that they had recovered Brittanee Drexel’s remains and 62-year-old Raymond Douglas Moody of Georgetown, S.C., had been charged with murder, criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping in her death.
The warrant for Moody’s arrest obtained by E! News alleges that he caused her death by manual strangulation on or about the night of April 25, 2009. The suspect had been jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail since May 4 on an obstruction of justice charge, but after being charged with murder was remanded without bail.
Officials said during a press conference that they were first led to the spot on May 4, the remains were excavated May 7 and positively identified on May 11 through dental records and DNA testing. A postmortem was conducted by the Georgetown County Coroner and the remains were released to the Drexel family.
GEORGETOWN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
“It was really quick,” Georgetown County Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said, “and it was hours, it wasn’t days, the entire process was a series of hours, from the time that she went missing to the time that she was buried.”
As for the suspect, Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver described Moody as a man with an “extensive sex offender criminal history.”
Moody is on the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division’s sex offender registry for convictions in 1983 in California for rape by force, kidnapping, and lewd or lascivious acts and sodomy with a child under 14. He was released from prison in 2004 after serving 20 1/2 years of a 40-year sentence, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed to WMBF News, after which he moved to South Carolina. His supervised parole ended in 2007. On the sex offender registry site, there’s also a citation for failure to register in South Carolina from 2010.
E! News has reached out to Moody’s attorney, Scott Bellamy.
“In the coming months, we will move to seek justice for Brittanee and we’ll be talking about arraignments and indictments and hearings,” Richardson said during the May 16 presser. “We’re going to do our very best to see that Raymond Moody pays for what he’s done, but that is not going to replace Brittanee.”
“Already the skeleton of the trial is in my mind,” he also told WMBF on Wednesday, noting that there were hundreds of boxes of discovery to go through. “And I’ve lived it for awhile, but Mr. Bellamy hasn’t, so it’ll take him a lot longer to catch up than it would me, but we could prepare our witness list for the most part today.”
“Brittanee lost her life in a tragic way at the hands of a horrible criminal who was walking our streets,” Susan Ferensic, lead agent at the FBI’s Columbia field office, told reporters Monday. Acknowledging the many law enforcement agencies represented around her and the people who worked the case at every level, she said, “No one ever wavered over this time. And we wish we could have come to these results sooner.”
WMBF
Moody was first by identified by Myrtle Beach police as a person of interest in February 2012, six months after authorities searched a Georgetown motel room he had stayed in around the time Brittanee disappeared. Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office Detective Phillip Hanna told WMBF News at the time that Moody was also a person of interest in a 2005 missing-person case, and he was not cooperating with either investigation.
Addressing the time that went by since Moody was first on their radar, Richardson said at the press conference, “There was a lot of investigation going on in the beginning. I think they named him as quickly as they could at that time, but what you’ll see as this unfolds is that there are all kinds of tentacles coming off of this. It took a while to really narrow down leads and we chased down every one of those.”
Chad and Dawn Drexler, who’d gone back and forth between New York and South Carolina countless times over the years, joined officials at the announcement of Moody’s arrest.
Dawn, reading from prepared notes, said, “This is truly a mother’s worst nightmare. I am mourning my beautiful daughter today, as I have been for 13 years, but today it’s bittersweet. We are much closer to the closure and the peace that we have been desperately hoping for. I am slowly processing everything that has come to light. I have not hidden from commenting or discussing Brittanee’s case publicly.”
Ultimately, she concluded, “today marks the beginning of a new chapter. The search for Brittanee is now a pursuit of Brittanee’s justice.”
Empty Talk
Fight Travel Anxiety With These 13 Affordable Must-Haves From Amazon
Published
4 hours agoon
May 22, 2022
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We independently selected these products because we love them, and we hope you do too at these prices. Shop with E! has affiliate relationships, so we may get a commission if you purchase something through our links. Prices are accurate as of publish time. Items are sold by the retailer, not E!.
Memorial Day is right around the corner, which means summer is finally here. If you’ve got plans to travel in the upcoming months, we’ve got all the things you need to make your trip (hopefully!) a lot less stressful. Because as much as we’d love for everything to run smoothly, that isn’t always the case.
For instance, packing in itself can be pretty stressful. This is especially true when you feel like you have a lot to bring, but very limited space. That’s where a set of packing cubes can be handy. It saves a ton of space, can keep your clothes wrinkle-free and it’ll keep your luggage neat and organized. Best part is, you can find a set of premium packing cubes for an affordable price on Amazon.
In fact, you can find pretty much find anything and everything you need for travel on Amazon. Whether you’re looking for practical products to help reduce stress on your trip or things that can help you stay cool, calm and collected through your travels, we’ve rounded up some must-have products from Amazon that can help fight travel anxiety. Check those out below.
Etekcity Handheld Digital Luggage Scale
There’s nothing more stressful than having to pay an extra $200 in overweight baggage fees. This handheld digital luggage scale features a “high-accuracy sensor” that can weigh bags up to 110 pounds. It was made to be super easy to use — all you have to do is hook it onto your suitcase, lift it up and the scale will read it and automatically lock onto the weight. You can get this in red, blue or green for just $11, or you can get a two pack for $20.
Downy Wrinkle Releaser Fabric Spray – 2 Pack
Whether you’re traveling for work, a wedding or another special occasion that requires you to dress your best, Downy’s Wrinkle Releaser Fabric Spray is a must-pack. It’s an all-in-one product that helps to remove wrinkles, static and odor. It has over 15,000 five-star reviews and numerous shoppers say they never travel with it.
Hanging Travel Toiletry Bag Cosmetic Make up Organizer
This sleek cosmetic bag features a built-in metal hook so you can hang this anywhere for easy access and to save on counter space. There are a ton of compartments to keep things nice and organized. There are several colors and patterns to choose from, and these have over 5,900 five-star reviews. According to shoppers, is toiletry bag can hold a ton without being bulky, plus
ZAXOP Heat Resistant Silicone Mat Pouch for Styling Tools – 2 Pack
This handy silicone mat and pouch was designed to safely store your curling iron or flat iron while traveling. No longer will you have to worry about accidentally burning the counter, and it makes it easier to store your styling tools if you’re in a rush.
Valourgo TSA Approved Travel Bottles for Toiletries
Bring your go-to products with you in these leak-proof containers. According to Amazon reviews, these are flight attendant-approved! In fact, one wrote, “I am a flight attendant and have used these in my toiletry bag for nearly a year and have had ZERO leak issues. The caps look slightly crooked when screwed on but it does not cause leaking. I love having the different colors so I know what I’m grabbing.”
Tide To Go Instant Stain Remover
Tide To Go is a must-have for your purse whether you’re traveling or not. It can work on ketchup, BBQ sauce, coffee, wine, tea and so on. You may not always need it, but it’s handy to have with you just in case an accidental spill happens.
BAGAIL Packing Cubes Luggage Packing Organizers for Travel Accessories – 8 Pack
These premium packing cubes from Amazon will help you keep everything in your suitcase organized so you know exactly where everything is. There are over 10 colors to choose from, and you get a set of eight for just over $20. It’s practical and affordable!
Travel Cosmetic Bucket Bag
This bucket-shaped bag has over 3,500 five-star reviews and shoppers love how you can keep products standing upright to avoid any spills. It’s also easy to clean, comes in several colors and it’s affordable.
BCOZZY Neck Pillow for Travel Provides Double Support to The Head, Neck, and Chin in Any Sleeping Position
This neck pillow is a bestseller on Amazon, and it’s no surprise why. It provides double support to your head, neck, and chin. You can sleep soundly on your flight so you’ll feel ready to tackle your busy trip ahead. Plus, it’s on sale now.
Elvira 32oz Large Water Bottle with Motivational Time Marker & Removable Strainer
Dehydration and lack of sleep are two big contributors that make us feel more prone to anxiety. Throw this water bottle that’s on sale now in your carry on and fill it up after you go through security. Challenge yourself to finishing the whole bottle before you land. It has over 15,000 5-star reviews on Amazon.
think! Protein Bars
Pack these protein bars in your carry on so you don’t have to rely on airport food, and you can beat the hangry feelings that creep in between meals.
Mighty Patch Original from Hero Cosmetics – Hydrocolloid Acne Pimple Patch for Covering Zits and Blemishes
Travel can increase feelings of anxiety, and stress can make you more prone to breakouts. You won’t have to worry about your blemishes showing up in your vacation photos if you pack these pimple patches. The brand says they will improve the look of your pimples overnight, and they have over 68,000 5-star reviews on Amazon.
sephia SP3060 Earbuds Wired in-Ear Headphones with Tangle-Free Cord, Noise Isolating, Bass Driven Sound, Metal Earphones, Carry Case, Ear Bud Tips, 3.5mm
If you’re ever unable to watch movies or television on the screen in front of your seat because your Airpods won’t connect, these headphones with a cord are for you. Settle into your seat and relax on your flight by unwinding to your favorite movie or show.
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